Hurricane Ida, with its terrifying strength, made landfall in the United States last Sunday, reversing the flow of the Mississippi River.
The impact from Hurricane Ida may push river water levels up by about 5 meters.
The river has temporarily reversed its flow and is currently flowing from south to north after Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm, made landfall. Data from the United States Geological Survey located in the southeastern part of New Orleans recorded this phenomenon.
The Mississippi River was discharging about 9,910 cubic meters of water per second in the days leading up to Hurricane Ida’s landfall. The water is now flowing upstream at a rate of approximately 1,132 cubic meters per second. The impact from Hurricane Ida could raise river water levels by about 5 meters.
According to experts, the phenomenon of rising Mississippi River waters causing localized flooding is unprecedented for previous storms. This phenomenon will result in inland areas being affected by high tides leading to flooding that cannot drain naturally for a certain period.
The National Hurricane Center reported that Hurricane Ida is gradually slowing down, which means that the rainfall caused by the storm could continuously sweep over a specific area, leading to higher total rainfall in that region, resulting in flooding and more post-flood consequences.
